[iD.063] TRACING ARCS – I SEE YOU (LP)

English: According to popular belief, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To some it is all about a slick, symmetrical surface, an immaculate appearance. Others find beauty in moments of truthfulness when they recognize themselves in their counterparts.

On their iD.EOLOGY debut Tracing Arcs combine both aspects into a thrilling aesthetic overall experience. As soon as the first notes hit your ears, a film noir starts rolling in your head. Classy triphop beats, elaborate jazz-chords and deep upright basses skillfully sketch out a closed-off world in subtle shades of black. With the dark attraction of a femme fatale, the nuanced and seductive voice of Fran Kapelle enters the scene, inevitably putting the listener under her spell. With every word of the sometimes cryptic, sometimes promising lyrics he keeps falling for her further and without notice, he’s become a detective in his own case, delving deeper and deeper into a secret that lies hidden within.

Whatever the findings may be, one thing is as sure as fate: when self-awareness happens through an album as euphonic and exciting as this, then just about any beholder of your choice will have the same words for it: beautiful, so beautiful.

When we say ‘rich sound’ it obviously doesn’t have anything to do with wealth. Yet while listening to the new release by UK’s Tracing Arcs I kept getting this strange feeling that this music is literally rich, as in ‘you have to be filthy rich to be listening to this lush sound’. Not true, naturally, especially considering that Eye See You is available for free download at iD.EOLOGY. But it just has that feel of music that being played personally for you, that you somehow could control if you wanted to, but you don’t want to, because you’re a lazy rich pig and because the music is so good anyway.

The album has only 7 tracks, but each song is its own little world and is long enough to provide you with a nice fulfilling trip into this world. Here lies the vulnerability of Tracing Arcs’ music – it isn’t something you just put on while folding your laundry or painting kitchen cabinets. It isn’t suitable for background noise at a party. This is music you actually have to listen to. Otherwise you will probably miss the harmony entirely. And harmony is the most important part here.

There are no supporting roles here, only leading ones. Vocals by Fran Kapelle (who also writes the lyrics) and Paul H. Addie’s layered soundscapes are inseparable and irreplaceable. Whether it’s the mellow psychedelic “Deep Breath”, the gorgeous “Consequence Of Love”, fulled with clear sadness “Sheep & Tides (for Big Al)” or the unusually intense (but still gentle) “So Beautiful”, – they work together creating these slowly progressing mini-trip-hop-jazz-operas that have to be thoroughly listened to in order to be heard. It doesn’t seem effortless, because it isn’t. It took a lot of effort to create and it requires some effort to appreciate. And this is why I cannot accept Tracing Arcs music 100% and it’s entirely my fault – I just cannot put enough effort into listening to music. I hope that some of you do.

Being a huge fan of their previous albums “Fin” and its remixes, I was really excited when I heard that a new Tracing arcs album was out. Eye see you continues on the same path as Fin, except for sounding much more polished. We get a groovy blend of trip hop, mellow downtempo and thoughtful lyrics. Fran Kapelle’s dark voice fits this type of music perfectly.

Terry Pack’s work on acoustic bass gives this album a bit of a twist. Good ol’ upright definitely blends in well with the rhodesy chords and the beats that compel you to bob your head with the groove.

From the ID.EOLOGY website album description:

“As soon as the first notes hit your ears, a film noir starts rolling in your head.2

This is without a doubt music that calls up images, settings, meanings and whatnot if you let your mind wander. It’s like watching a photo album – here’s a metropolis at night with the smog bearing down.. here some rusted swings on a childrens’ playground.. now we’re on a boat, maybe a ferry, on a cloudy day.

Standout tracks that you should at least check out are Consequence of love and So beautiful. Overall, very inspiring to listen – I’m tempted to say: so beautiful.